It Is You That I've Loved All Along
by Snatching At Dreams
Summary: in 7th year, Lily Evans and James Potter finally got together. But this is not your average lxj fic. its also about the people around them, and their lives too, how their decisions shaped the future...
1. Too Late

**hiya everyone. this is a fanfic thats been in the works for quite some time, and is still being written as we speak. please please review, even if it is just a smiley face. **

**hopefully this story does Lily and James's love justice. I hope to have a side story running as well soonish.**

**a very special person who is very dear to me is going to say something now.**

**Severus Snape: Snatch doesnt own any of the characters (except for the odd extra) in this fanfiction, as much as she'd love to. **

"_I'm sorry."_

"_I'm not interested."_

"_I'm sorry!"_

"_Save your breath."_

_It was nighttime. Lily, who was wearing a dressing gown, stood with her arms folded in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady, at the entrance to Gryffindor Tower._

"_I only came out because Mary told me you were threatening to sleep here."_

"_I was. I would have done. I never meant to call you Mudblood, it just-"_

"_Slipped out?" There was no pity in Lily's voice. "It's too late. I've made excuses for you for years. None of my friends can understand why I even talk to you. You and your precious little Death Eater friends – you see, you don't even deny it! You don't even deny that's what you're all aiming to be! You can't wait to join You-Know-Who, can you?"_

_He opened his mouth, but closed it without speaking._

"_I can't pretend anymore. You've chosen your way, I've chosen mine."_

"_No – listen, I didn't mean – "_

" – _to call me Mudblood? But you call everyone of my birth Mudblood, Severus. Why should I be any different?"_

_He struggled on the verge of speech but with a contemptuous look she turned and climbed back through the portrait hole…_

Severus stared at the portrait, waiting for it to swing forward again. She was coming back, he thought, she'd see reason. But somewhere in his heart he knew she wasn't going to forgive him. He turned away, tears beginning to run down his pale face. Why did he say it? He never meant to call her a mudblood. He had always told her that being muggle-born was nothing to be ashamed of. But in a spur-of-the-moment, angry and humiliated, he had shouted the insult at her. And now she hated him.

He ran down the corridor, past the lovers snogging in the corridor. It hurt so much to see affection like this. So hard when he knew it could never be him and Lily. Not now.

Severus had no intention of going back to the Slytherin common room. He could not pretend everything was alright in front of his friends. Friends? The word hurt. Lily had been his friend. His closest friend, the one he confided in. Now there was no-one. Sure Avery and Mulciber was fun to hang out with, but sometimes their actions made him feel sick. Yes, he had stuck up for them when confronted by Lily, but only because he didn't want to appear weak.

Turning down the corridor he heard voices. Realising at once who they belonged to, Severus stopped walking and pressed himself to the wall, not wanting to be seen.

'I don't see why you're so worried about it Moony. You'll probably get all O's. Relax, one more theory paper and then we're done.'

'Shut up Prongs. I'm just worried about charms. My teacup was still a little bit orange.' There was a sudden burst of laughter.

'Orange? Mine still had feathers and a beak! Talk about perfectionism Moony!'

Severus pulled himself away from the wall, a sudden desire to curse James Potter rising inside him. Potter had caused this pain, caused Severus to shout those words to the only true friend he had ever had, Potter was the reason he and Lily were no longer friends...

But he couldn't do it now. He didn't have the emotional strength, and he would be out-numbered. The voices faded, and Severus was left standing there in the corridor, heart pounding.

Severus checked his watch, and realised it was later than he had imagined. Collecting his thoughts and putting on his usual unreadable face he descending the stairs that lend to the Slytherin dormitories. He gave the password and stepped into the dimly lit common-room. Avery and Mulciber looked up.

'Where have you been?' Avery asked.

'Library.' Severus responded. 'That stupid transfiguration essay. Can you believe McGonagall gave it to us after our OWLs?'

Avery nodded. 'I heard she didn't give her Gryffindors any homework for the holidays.'

The three spent the rest of the evening insulting the other houses, various students, and teachers. Severus realised how easy it was to lie to his friends, they accepted his story without question. At about midnight Mucliber reminded them they had their last O.W.L the next day, and the three headed off to bed.

Soon after, the sound of Averys snores filled the room, but try as he might, Severus could not get to sleep. He played the scene over and over in his head, playing the words he had shouted at her, and the shock and hurt on her face when she had heard them...


	2. Letter

**thank you all for the reviews :) they have helped me a lot :) here is the second chapter. Lily is going to do the disclaimer today...**

**Lily: yeah, snatch doesnt own any of us, espec not Snape (but i'm sure she'd love to)  
**

Lily woke up suddenly, sweating. She had just had a horrible dream. She had been running though a forest, being chased by Severus, who was calling her name. Slowly he had gained on her, and there looked like no escape. Then from the corner of her eye Lily had spotted someone, waving and shouting at her. She had turned and ran towards the figure, which she recognised as James Potter. She had run straight into to him, and they had embraced, but when she had looked up, she was not looking into his hazel eyes, but the cold black eyes of Severus Snape...

Lily shook herself. It had just been a dream, she told herself. Nothing more. It had been more than a year since she and Severus had ending their friendship, and even though she no longer thought about him much during the day, she still often had nightmares about him. .

Yawning, Lily got out of bed and made her way down to the kitchen. No-one was there; her parents were still asleep and Petunia presumably had spent the night at her voluminous boyfriends place. However there was a soft tapping at the window and Lily could see her owl, Speckles, pecking at the glass with his beak. She let the owl in, who hooted softly and landed on the back of the lounge. He had a letter tied to his leg, and once Lily had removed it, he flew over to his perch, obviously very pleased with himself.

Lily was surprised the letter had come so quickly, she had only written to her friend and fellow prefect Remus Lupin yesterday. However, when she unfolded the letter, it was not written in Remus's neat, ordered handwriting, but in loopy, uneven handwriting that she immediately recognised as James Potters. Slightly annoyed, she began reading.

Dear Lily

How are you? Remus is sick and we're staying at his house, so that's why I'm writing this letter and not him. However he wants me to tell you that he's fine, and not to worry too much about him.

What have you been up to these holidays? Finished that essay for charms yet?

Not much is happening at the moment. Mrs. Lupin is currently out, so we have the house to ourselves. Sirius has been acting a bit strangely lately, but I think he might just be bored.

Since school starts in 3 weeks, we were thinking we better be getting our school books and stuff. Would you like to meet us in Diagon Alley on the 20th of August? We were thinking about getting all our stuff then and just staying at the Leaky Cauldron until the 1st. We'd all love to see you, but if you can't make it, that's fine. Just send an owl telling us your plans.

Hope to see you soon

James

Lily reread the letter, hardly believing her eyes. Here was an entire letter from James Potter, and not once had he been boastful, big-headed, arrogant or rude. What's more, he had not asked her out or attempted to court her in any way. It was just written like one friend to another, and Lily realised how much James had matured over the last two years.

Lily hurried upstairs to get some fresh parchment and ink. Going back to the kitchen she sat down, quill in hand. However she didn't know what to write back. '_Dear James_.' No, that sounded too soppy already. '_To James._' No, that didn't sound right either...

Half an hour later, Lily sat back and admired her finished letter, happy with the end product.

Dear James, Sirius, Remus and Peter (if you're there)

Thank you for the letter. It was nice to hear from you guys.

I haven't got my books and stuff either, so yes, I'd love to meet up in Diagon Alley on the 20th. Staying at the Leaky Cauldron till school starts again sounds good too; my sister brings her new boyfriend home all the time and I don't think I can put up with him until September. Remus; how are you? Hope the others aren't being more a hindrance than a help, and I hope you get better soon.

Not much is happening here at the moment. My holidays have been pretty boring – lots of homework and revision.

On a more serious note, how are you guys going protection and defence against You-Know-Who? I've added some protection and concealment charms around our house, just in case. I've also told my parents to be extra careful when going out. They're really awesome: they take all this business really seriously and they've been really careful.

Anyway, thank you very much for the offer, I'd love to come.

See you then, much love

Lily

Lily enveloped and sealed the letter, then called Speckles over to her.

'I want you to deliver this to Remus, but you can give it to James or Sirius if they're there too.' she said to the owl as she carried him to the window. Speckles nibbled her ear affectionately, and then took off into the sky.

Lily watched him for a moment, then went back to the kitchen and made herself some toast and a cup of her favourite Turkish Delight flavoured tea.

'9 days.' She said to herself. '9 more days.'


	3. Books

**Again, thank you for the reviews and keep it up :) **

**James: Snatch would love to say she owns everything in this story, but she would be lying if she did.  
**

James stared out of the window, determined to be the first one to spot Lily. However, he needn't have bothered; Sirius was staring off into space, Remus was reading his new book, and Peter was hastily trying to finish off his charms essay. They were sitting inside Florean Fortescue's ice-cream parlour, supposedly eating sundaes, but all four lay untouched on the table, melting.

All at once James gave a shout and stood up hurriedly, causing the table to knock over and Sirius' sundae to spill all over Peters just finished essay. While Remus helped Peter remove the ice-cream from his parchment, James shot outside. He had just seen a mane of long red hair disappear into Flourish and Blotts.

James came to a halt outside the shop. He didn't want to go in: he'd look like a fool, and he didn't want that, especially in front of Lily. Instead he waited outside the shop, waiting for her to come out. 'That way', he thought, 'I could make it seem like an accident.'

Several minutes later, James heard the tinkling of the doorbell and turned to see Lily stepping out of the shop, several bags in her arms. He was suddenly reminded of how beautiful she was. Her red hair shone in the sunlight, and her green eyes sparkled like gems. She looked around and spotted him, and James was surprised to see the smile that spread onto her face.

'Hi.' She said warmly. 'Where are the others?'

'At Floreans. At least, they were when I left them. Err... do you want me to carry some of your books for you?' James asked. Lily looked surprised at the kind offer, but she handed a bag over to him.

James groaned.

'These weigh a ton! How many books did you buy?'

Lily grinned. 'A few. I'm taking more N.E.W.T classes than you, so I've got more books. And I've bought some extra books too, for revision and that sort of thing.'

James laughed. 'Lily, you seem to own more books than the school library! Though I think the title of walking library still goes to Remus... speak of the devil!'

Remus was walking towards them, a bored look on his face.

'Hi Lily, how are you? Remus asked. Then turning to James he said: 'Wormy met up with Mary and they went off together, and Padfoot went wandering off to god-knows-where.'

Lily laughed. 'It's good to see you too Remus! How are you? Fully recovered?'

Remus shrugged, and cast a sidelong glance at James that Lily didn't see. Lily spoke again.

'So what do you guys need for school. Have you got anything yet?'

'We haven't got anything. We thought we'd wait for you and then get all our stuff together.' Remus replied.

'Cool. Well I need to get money exchanged at Gringotts. I only had a little bit of wizarding money left after school last year and I just spent it on books.' Lily said sheepishly.

Remus grinned. 'Ok we'll go to Gringotts first then. We'll try and find the others later.'

They set off towards the wizarding bank, but Remus pulled James back.

'James, you have serious issues. You have to be way less _obvious_ around Lily. You running off like that whenever you see her... seriously. That kind of thing isn't going to help you.'

James sighed. 'Then what do you suggest I do? And since when were you the relationships expert?'

'Just try to... try to be more yourself around her. Also, stop clamming up every time you two are around other people. It's just weird. You seemed fine when I saw you two together, and as soon as I came up to you, you didn't speak at all. Lily's going to think you're a fruit loop if you keep it up. So be kind to her, but don't be too over the top.' Remus replied.

'ARE YOU GUYS COMING OR WHAT?' Lily had reached the Gringotts entrance. Remus smiled and started walking towards her, but as he walked away from James he turned his head and said:

'And as for your second question, when have I ever been wrong about you and Lily in the past?'


	4. Badge

**hey guys. sorry this chapter has taken so long; i've had a lot going on at school and I've also had a bad case of writers block. im still not 100% happy with this chapter though. please review 3**

**Remus: again, snatch does not own us. except for Zara Hyde and that annoying Hufflepuff prefect.  
**

Remus leant on the wall between platforms nine and ten then slid through the barrier onto platform nine and three quarters. Wheeling his trolley towards the train, he tried to spot his friends through the thick white steam.

The four marauders and Lily had travelled from the Leaky Cauldron to Kings Cross together, but in the crowded station they had been separated. Remus had decided the best idea would just be to meet them on the platform, but obviously the others had not thought of the same idea.

He was about to give up and get onto the train when there was a loud _crash _and someone tripped over his trunk. The figure got up, brushed itself off, and stepped closer to Remus. It was Lily.

'Hey Remus. I found the others looking around one of the station shops. They think all the muggle stuff is amazing.' Lily sighed. 'Shall we get our stuff on the train? I reckon they're going to be a while...'

Remus laughed. 'Sounds like a plan. Yeah, James and Sirius get distracted like that. I wouldn't be surprised if they come running onto the platform at a minute to eleven.'

The two friends pulled their trunks onto the train and then set off to find and empty compartment.

As Remus and Lily walked through the carriage, there was a shout from the end of the corridor. 'OI! LILY! REMUS! WE'VE GOT A COMPARTMENT! COME AND JOIN US!' Alice Prewetts head was sticking out of the very last door.

'Cool! Thanks Alice!' Lily shouted back.

When they reached the compartment, Alice hugged them both. 'So glad to see you guys! How have your holidays been?'

Lily shrugged. 'So So. I didn't do much until I met up with the Marauders in Diagon Alley.'

'Speaking of the Marauders,' came a voice from the compartment, 'where are James and Sirius?' it was Frank Longbottom, a fellow Gryffindor and Alice's boyfriend.

'I think they're still at one of the Muggle station shops. They better hurry up though: its two minutes to eleven.' Lily told him, checking her watch. 'Oh well. If they miss the train they're got no-one to blame but themselves. Remus, we better be getting to the prefects carriage. We'll be back soon.' She told Alice and Frank.

The two left the compartment and started heading towards the front of the train.

'Do you know who the Head Girl is?' Remus asked.

Lily grinned mischievously. 'What?' Remus enquired. Then he laughed. 'Don't tell me you are...' At once an uncharacteristic smirk spread onto Remus's face, but Lily missed it.

When they reached the prefects carriage, Remus pulled the door open and stood aside. 'You first.' He said, still smirking.

There was no-one there, but they didn't have to wait long until the door slid open and a girl with long blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes walked in. She looked around, and spotted the only other occupants.

'Hi. Zara Hyde, fifth year Ravenclaw.' she said in a slightly dreamy voice, extending a hand. .Head Boy and Girl I'm presuming?' she asked. Remus shook her hand.

'Lily's Head Girl.' He told the Ravenclaw. 'I was offered the post of Head Boy, but I declined for personal reasons.'

Lily looked a Remus curiously, but didn't ask anything. Something caught Zara's attention and she wandered off, occasionally poking the air with her wand.

The carriage door opened again, and several people walked in. Remus checked his watch. 'Train should start moving any second.' He told Lily. 'Let's hope the others made it in time.'

Just as he finished speaking there was the shrill whistle of the train and the carriage started to move. Lily turned to Remus.

'We're off! Last year at Hogwarts! Oh dear, I think I'm going to cry.' She laughed, her bright green eyes sparkling.

More people arrived and soon the carriage became noisy. 'It looks like you're going to have to give your speech alone.' Remus told Lily.

'Whoever the head Boy is this year, I'm going to kill him. She replied angrily. 'He's supposed to be here. I am going to punch him when he turns up, regardless of who he is. Now I'm going to have to give this speech alone.'

Standing up, Lily looked around the room. 'OI! EVERYBODY SHUT UP!' Everyone looked up at her. 'Ok, thank you. Now, since the Head Boy isn't here, I-'

'Who _is_ Head Boy this year?' interrupted a fifth year Hufflepuff. Lily stared angrily at him. Remus intervened. 'Don't interrupt the head Girl. You'll find out soon enough.'

Lily smiled at him appreciatively. 'Anyway, as I was saying, since the Hea-'

The far door in the carriage opened and every head turned.

'Am I late?' asked a voice, and in stepped James Potter, the head boy badge pinned to his shirt.


	5. Train

**And for todays disclaimer... (DRUMROLL)**

**Aragorn - Snatch, what the hell am i doing in a harry potter fanfic? **

**Me - just say the lines and i might let you go**

**Aragorn - fine... snatch regrets to inform you that she does not own any of the characters from harry potter...**

**Me - or lord of the rings for that matter... **

**Aragorn - HEY! WHO'S DOING THIS DISCLAIMER? **

**Me - sorry**

Lily walked back to her friends' compartment, completely confused by the recent events. She honestly didn't know what to think about James being Head Boy. She wanted to feel annoyed about it, but the feeling that had arisen in her when she had seen him walk through the compartment door had been quite different...

Frank was nowhere to be seen and none of the marauders had shown up. The only people in the carriage were Alice and Mary McDonald, one of Lily's close friends.

'So?' Alice demanded as Lily slid open the door.. 'How was the meeting? Who's Head Boy?' She watched as her friend sank into the nearest seat without a word. Alice understood this perfectly.

'Oh.' She said. 'Is it Snape or James this time? What happened?'

'James.' Lily sighed. Alice looked at her expectantly.

'And?'

'He's...' Lily faltered. 'James... is...'

'Is what?' Alice demanded. 'Gay?' Mary snorted at the suggestion.

'He's the Head Boy.'

Alice stared Lily, as though she had misheard her friend.

'WHAT? James is Head...' suddenly Alice burst into a fit of hysteric giggling. 'Oh, oh, it's all too much!' she cried, tears of laughter pouring down her cheeks. 'Please, say it's not true! That's just perfect! You and James! Ha!'

Lily stared and her friend murderously.

'if you're going to be like this, I'm leaving.' She snarled, and she picked up her bag, flung open the door, and ran out into the corridor.

Lily stormed down the corridor, not really paying attention to where she was going. Just as long as it wasn't anywhere near Alice. She had expected sympathy from her friend, but what had she got? She really felt like going back and cursing Alice...

Lilys murderous thoughts were interrupted as she ran into someone. Lily staggered backwards, but managed to hold her balance.

'I'm so sorry, I wasn't looking where I was...' she stopped suddenly when she realised she had run into none other than Severus Snape.

'Sorry.' She said again, and turned to leave. She half expected Snape to grab her arm and demand to talk to her, but he didn't. When she reached the end of the corridor, she looked back. He was gone.

Lily stepped into the next carriage, pushed past the food trolley and a bunch of hungry 3rd years and opened the door into the second last carriage on the train.

WHACK

Someone had slammed into her. Lily was knocked sideways and she landed on the floor with a thud.

'Oops, sorry Lily, didnt see you there.' James Potter was standing at her feet, hand out-stretched. Lily took it gratefully.

'This is the third time today I've been knocked over.' She told him, brushing the dust of her t-shirt. James laughed.

'Well you never were very co-ordinated.' He said, brushing some of the dust out of her hair with his hand.

'Where are the other marauders?' Lily asked

'In a compartment in the last carriage.' He replied 'I've been sent on a food trolley finding mission. It hasn't come yet and everyone's getting pretty hungry. I've been missing those pumpkin pasties all summer.'

'its in the next carriage along.' Lily told him.

James smiled at her. 'Thanks. I should probably go and get some food now. I'm not sure about the others, but I could eat a horse!'

'I know better than to get between a man and his food.' Lily laughed, stepping aside so James could get to the trolley and his beloved pumpkin pasties.

**I'm sorry about the long wait for this chapter, I've had lots of things on, finishing school, Christmas shopping etc. **

**Im not so happy with this chapter, but I really wanted to get it out of the way for the next chapter, which should probably add more mystery to Sirius's strange behaviour. **

**I would LOVE reviews **


	6. Feast

**HUZZAH I'M BACK**

**There is really no excuse for this being late, coz im on summer hols and have nothing to do. Im currently working on four other fanfictions, and one of them should make an appearance soon :) let me give you a hint – lots of singing. **

**so so, who's going to do my intro today...**

**Peter – Snatch, wrong fanfiction. **

**Myself – please, could you just do the intro? Otherwise I could kill you off prematurely...**

**Peter – OK, Ok, I Peter, High King of Narnia, the lone islands, etc etc – **

**Myself – HEY, DO IT IN FULL**

**Peter – no.**

**Myself – fine...**

**Peter – etc, etc, declare that none of this belongs to Snatch**

**Myself – sadly.**

Chapter 6 – Feast (oh dear, does that sound like too much of a vampire novel title?)

Severus watched as people emptied out of the carriages. He saw a vampire and nearly fainted because it sparkled so...

**THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU HAVE WRITERS BLOCK (**_**Please note: I, Finding Your Voice (snatch's editor), was reading over Snatch's shoulder and making outrageous suggestions for this fic, so writer's block is not entirely to blame)**_

**ANYWAYS...**

Severus watched as people emptied out of the carriages. He had never particularly enjoyed the trip from Hogsmeade station to Hogwarts, but this year he hated it.

He could see the Thestrals.

Severus had never quite believed in the black, skeletal, winged horses before; most Slytherins didn't. But he still had not managed to forget about them, and they had sat at the back of his mind, not quite there; an uneasy presence.

But there was no denying their existence now.

He approached the horse slowly, but it paid no heed to him. Only when he was close enough to touch it did it turn its skeletal head to face him. Severus held out a shaking hand and ran his fingers along the Thestrals neck. It felt weird, kind of a mixture between clay and leather.

It wasn't actually that bad.

'Um Severus, what are you doing?' It was Avery. Severus quickly snatched his hand away.

'I swear I bumped into something right here,' he lied, pointing at the thestrals hooves. 'But it appears to have gone. You know, someone's probably charmed their trunk or something so its invisible.'

Avery nodded. 'Yeah probably so the muggles don't get suspicious of all the trunks.' He sneered. 'Probably a saintly Gryffindor, caring so much about the stupid muggles.'

Turning away from the carriages, they joined Mulciber and a group of Slytherins. Severus knew why they all hung out together. As soon as the school year was over, they were off to join Voldemort.

'Shall we go then?' Mulciber asked. 'I'm not sure about you, but I've been missing Hogwarts food _a lot_.'

Severus silently agreed.

As they walked up the castle steps to the great oak front doors, Severus turned and looked at the thestrals. They were only just spottable in the dark. Their coats seemed to shine slightly, like the moon was reflecting of them. Severus shivered. He could understand why people were so frightened of them.

The Sorting Hat sang of troubled times ahead, and choosing your friends wisely. Considering that the hat spent most of its time in the headmaster's office, Severus had a very strong suspicion that Dumbledore's welcome speech would be quite similar.

The students were sorted, ('another Weasley!') and then the food came. Severus, who hadn't eaten properly since June, piled enormous helpings of food onto his plate, and tucked in. The food was as good as always, and all his favourite foods were present in plenty.

Once the desserts had (prematurely, thought Severus) vanished, Dumbledore got up to give his welcome speech. During this time most Slytherins switched off, but Severus listened. He wasn't sure why, but every speech Dumbledore gave felt like it was directed at him, and him alone. He was absolutely sure that Dumbledore knew what he was planning to do once he left school.

'Welcome to another year at Hogwarts!' Dumbledore spread his arms wide. 'I am sure you are all very tired, but before you all go off to your dormitories, I have a few notices. Once again Mr. Fitch asks me to tell you that magic is not allowed in corridors between classes, and that the Forbidden Forest is, as the name suggests, forbidden, and no student is allowed to go in there unless studying magical beasts for Care Of Magical Creatures,' he paused, 'so a warning for our new students, and some of the older ones as well.' His eyes slide to the Gryffindor table and, Severus guessed, Potter and his friends.

'Now for a matter of grave importance. As you may know, years ago there was a student who came to this school, walked the same corridors as you, and sat in the great hall as you do now. His name was Tom Riddle.'

There was a lot of murmuring in the hall. Several of the Sytherins had snapped to attention.

Dumbledore continued. 'Today he is known by another name, and his deeds have caused great pain and suffering. Some of you have lost family members to him and his followers.'

'Here I must warn you. Lord Voldemort -' several people gasped '- prizes magic and talented witches and wizards highly. He will try to get some of you to join his ranks, especially those of his old house,' He nodded towards the Slytherin table. 'So I urge you, if the time comes, consider which is the easy path... and which is the right one.'

The hall was deathly silent.

'Now, your beds are waiting!' Dumbledore's smile had returned. 'Off you go!'

Severus slowly got up of the bench, his mind whirring. He certainly knew what tonight's discussions in the Slytherin common room would be about.

**so so, whatcha think? (im having difficulty typing here as kmy little Sheltie is trying to lick my arm off as i type) **

**please review!**

**IMPORTANT! i have a COMPETITION for this (sorry, pause for a sec to stop my dog falling off the couch... OFF ELMO!) story, check it out on my profile. the prize is pretty cool if i do say so myself, so be sure to enter!**

**good luck to all!**

**Snatch  
**


	7. Commons

**Huzzah, I'm back! **

**Well, I've started college (as in grade 11) and I've got work up to my neck. At the moment I'm on one of my half hour breaks, which is due to finish in five minutes.**

**This chapter is really just a filler, but hopefully from this chapter you'll get a bit of an idea of what is going to happen in the future. **

**Remember that there is a competition going on. Please check out my home page. **

**So... for the disclaimer today...**

**Ginny – hey, isn't this Harry's parents?**

**Snatch – um, yeah**

**G- AWESOME. **

**S- um, Gin, disclaimer?**

**G – yeah, oops, sorry. *hem hem* - Snatch wishes me to tell you that none of the characters in this story are hers, and that she is not J.K Rowling in disguise. If she was, she wouldn't have to stop writing fanfiction and go do her Psychology assignment.**

**S- Yeah, I own nothing. **

'So Lily, where exactly is the head commons?' James asked as they walked up the stairs together. Lily laughed.

Since you have that map of yours, I thought you would be able to find it.' James looked at her, surprised.

'How'd you know about the map?'

Lily snorted. 'I may not have been on first name terms with you in the past years, but you have a voice like a foghorn.' She laughed 'and Remus told me about it last year.'

'You seem to get _all _your information from Remus,' James sighed. 'There appears to be nothing you don't know. We should just make you an honorary Marauder and be done with it. By the way, sorry about being late for the meeting. I couldn't get Sirius away from the muggle tourist shops.'

Lily was taken aback by the apology, and took a couple of seconds to regain her voice. 'That's all right. I probably could have handled the situation anyway.'

When had James become so nice? Lily wondered. She had had several conversations with him in the past couple of days, and none of them, she reflected, had involved him calling her Lilyflower or any of those infuriating nicknames; she getting annoyed whenever he spoke; he asking her out several times; or her eventually punching him in the face.

Oh well, Lily thought, it made a nice change.

Lily was pulled out of her reverie when she crashed into James, who had stopped at the end of a corridor.

'Which way?' he asked.

'Um, err, left,' she replied.

They walked in silence for several minutes, Lily leading the way. When they walked past the statue of the one eyed witch on the third floor, James seemed to remember something, and spoke.

'Hey Lily, I know you only met us at Diagon alley in the last 2 weeks of holidays, but did you notice anything strange about Sirius's behaviour? I mean, stranger than normal...'

Lily turned around. 'You mean you think something's happened in his family?'

James shook his head

'No, he would have told me if it had been family related. It's just that, he's been acting rather odd lately, and whenever I try to bring it up he always changes the subject.'

Lily leant against the stone wall, thinking.

I think you're right. He has been acting weirdly. I mean, when we were in Madame Malkins buying Peters robes, one of the assistants was very pretty, you know, someone who Sirius would generally flirt with, and he didn't do anything, he just stood there, looking off into space!'

Lily thought for a moment, and then suddenly, to James's surprise, she giggled.

'What?'

'You don't think it's a _girl _that's caused all this?'

James stared

'What, you mean, Sirius is in love? He's ever had any problems with girls before. Sirius has always been fully aware of the affect he has on members of the opposite sex... and he knows how to act around them, you know, get them to like him. He's very aware, Sirius is... unlike dear Moony... Relationship expert my arse.'

'Sorry, what?' Lily been looking around at all the pictures on the walls, and had not been listening to James speak.

'Nothing, just thinking aloud.'

'Ah ok. Well, we're nearly there; it's just around this corner. Don't you think that it's cool how it moves?'

'Say what?'

'The Head Commons. It moves depending on which house the head boy and girl are from.'

James looked surprised. 'What happens if the head boy and girl are from different houses?'

Lily frowned slightly. 'I don't know, but thankfully, we don't have that problem. Anyway, here we are.'

They had stopped outside a beautifully carved wooden door.

'There's no portrait or anything?'

'No, I think we just have to say the password.'

James turned to Lily. 'And what, pray tell, is the password, Head Girl?'

'Thestral'

As soon as Lily spoke, the wooden door opened, revealing a beautiful windowed common room with comfy looking armchairs, a large fireplace, and shelves upon shelves of books.

'Woah.'

'This is quite something.'

'How do you feel about head boy and girls now?' Lily teased.

'We are the luckiest people EVER.' James breathed, awestruck.

For the next half hour, Lily and James examined every inch of the commons, admiring its luxuries.

'Wow, have you seen all these books? Remus is going to go _nuts.' _

'We get a bathroom each! Finally I'll have space for my own bar of soap!'

'I wonder where this leads?' Lily said curiously, peering into a small passage that lead off the common room.

'To Gryffindor tower, I expect.' Replied James lazily. He had collapsed into one of the armchairs, and it looked as though he might fall asleep.

'Ok, well, I'm going to check out my dorm, and then I might go down to see what everyone's doing.'

Lily climbed the spiral staircase. At the top was a small landing with two doors. One read 'James Potter' while the other 'Lily Evans.'

Then it hit her like a wave: she would be spending the entire year in very close proximity to James Potter. Two years ago, if someone had told her this, she would have screamed and pegged toast at them. But now? Now she didn't mind so much. She wasn't sure exactly how it had happened, but over the last two years, James seemed to have deflated his head a lot. Probably thanks to Remus, she thought.

**Yeah, so as you can see, everything seems to be coming back to Remus (he's one of my favourite characters)**

**I really want this story to be about all the marauders, and the people around them at Hogwarts, rather than just about Lily and James. So Sirius's lack of attention to girls, Remus's obliviousness to the fact that half of the girls at Hogwarts want to be locked in a broom cupboard with him (I would), and Lily and James eventually getting together (it will be dramatic) are just some of the many stories within this story. **

**PLEASE REMEMBER TO ENTER MY COMPETITION. Details on my profile page. **

**- Till next time, where Lily and James meet the prefects, and someone gets hit a lot of times on the head with an Encyclopedia Britannica,**

**Snatch **


	8. Prefects

**There's really no excuse for how late I've posted this. I've been on holidays for nearly 4 weeks. **

**So, this chapter is the one I've been looking most forward to writing, as this is where things start to go off in a different direction from your usual JamesxLily story. Fingers crossed that people like it!**

**Hmmm... who's going to do the disclaimer today...**

**Fred: hello Snatch...**

**George: we've come to crash your disclaimer.**

**S: by all means, do. It was getting to the point when I would have had to use Filch in my disclaimer...**

**F: OH NO!**

**G: you're so lucky we're here!**

**F: well, Snatch usually gets us disclaimer people to say that she owns nothing, -**

**G: -but in this chapter, she actually owns a lot of characters. In fact,-**

**F: -basically all the prefects mentioned are the inventions of Snatch.**

**S: (they're based on friends)**

**F: but the other characters are,-**

**G: -regrettably,-**

**F: - not hers**

**S: you heard them!**

**(btw, I have stopped the competition, because no-one was interested)**

By the time James had managed to convince himself to get out of bed, have a shower and get dressed, it was nearly eight. When he got down to breakfast, he saw he was not the only late riser; in fact, there were less than fifty people in the hall, all with various expressions of tiredness on their faces. The only people who seemed to be awake were Lily and Remus. Lily was ruffling through a pile of papers with great enthusiasm, a quill tucked behind her ear, and Remus was downing his bacon and eggs in what only could be described as a wolfish manner.

'G'morning.' James yawned as he sat down and began to help himself to food. 'Toast, Lily?'

Lily stuck out a hand, grabbed a piece of toast from the stack James was offering, and stuffed it into her mouth without looking away from her papers.

'Is there a reason you two are so enthusiastic on the first day of school, other than the fact that you're both raving lunatics?'

Lily waved her hands impatiently.

'First day as Head-Girl, James, I've got a lot to organise. We've got out first prefect meeting tonight and I have to work out shifts and timetables and-'

'Who's Zoë Trouve-Wrenns?' James asked, peering at a sheet of parchment at the top of the pile.

'She's a Hufflepuff fifth year. One of the prefects.'

James picked up the parchment and examined it. 'Why did I even bother asking? Look here, you got everything written about her. _'Birthday: 26__th__ July, favourite food: enchiladas, last book borrowed from library...' _why do you have all this information?'

Lily snatched the paper away from him. 'Just a bit of background info, that's all.'

'Whatever you say,' James said through a mouthful of toast.

The first day back at school was highly entertaining. Several of James's classmates had gone into various stages of mental breakdowns when McGonagall handed them their first homework for the year, a 4 foot essay on Animagi. The fact that N.E. would be taking place at the end of the year was not lost on anybody; each teacher mentioned it at least twice during their lesson, and the increase in the workload was obvious.

'4 feet by Friday! That's ridiculous! How am I expected to do that?' James complained as he sank into an armchair in Gryffindor tower.

'Considering it's on Animagi, I thought you'd find it easy.' Remus replied, not looking up from his book.

'Well, I've got other things to do apart from write an essay, you know! How you manage to get through those dictionaries of yours as well as all your work, I'll never know.' James cast a dark eye at Remus.

'It's not a dictionary, it's Tess of the D'Urbervilles, and it's quite interesti-'

'Isn't that the highly depressing one about that woman whose life is a complete tragedy?' Lily had come over to their group.

'That would be the one.'

James groaned. 'It's not time for the Prefect meeting, is it?'

'It is indeed. And don't be so negative about it. Prefect meetings aren't that bad.'

James sighed heavily and stuck out a hand. Lily pulled him of the armchair.

'Come on Head Boy, if we don't hurry we're going to be late. You coming, Remus?

The Prefect lounge was empty when Remus James and Lily arrived.

'You guys get a _lounge?' _

'And a bathroom.' Lily replied smugly.

James huffed loudly and sat down in one of the chairs. If he had known about the luxuries the prefects got, he would have started behaving years ago.

The first people to arrive were the two fifth year Hufflepuffs.

'Hi. I'm Zoë, and this,' said the girl, poking the boy, 'is Robert. But don't bother with him, he only speaks troll.' Robert protested.

The Slytherins showed up as Zoe and Robert went to sit down. They eyed James and Lily with contempt and found seats together at the far side of the room.

Finally the rest of the prefects arrived, with the last being a Ravenclaw who had her nose in a book. James stared, amazed, as she managed to find a seat next to Zoë the Hufflepuff without taking her eyes off her novel.

'It seems you have a rival bookworm Remus.'

Remus's reply was cut off by Lily.

'Ready to start?' she looked at James, and he started. That's right, he was here as Head Boy, not as a gate-crasher. He was actually meant to be doing something.

Lily shouted for everyone to shut up.

'Hi everyone! I'm Lily Evans, Head Girl this year, and this is James Potter, who's the Head boy.'

Robert the Hufflepuff put his hand up.

'How come he's Head Boy? He wasn't even a prefect last year!' there was a murmur of agreement from some of the other students.

'Dumbledore seemed to think James was the best person for the job, so if you have a problem with the Head Boy appointment I suggest you take it up with him,' replied Lily curtly.

'But-' Robert stopped suddenly: Zoë had hit him over the head with her Ravenclaw friend's book.

'So, as I was saying,' Lily continued, 'we're your Heads for this year, so if you've got any questions, you come see us.'

Lily looked expectantly at James, and James realised he needed to speak. Trying hard to remember some of the things the notice he had received with the badge said, James spoke.

'Your job as prefects is to make sure that a reasonable amount of order is kept in the halls in between classes. You will also be given evening shifts to patrol the corridors. Lily has set up timetables for you. You will be patrolling in pairs which have been decided for you.'

There was a large groan from everyone in the room. Lily cleared her throat loudly.

'You will be in a pair with someone from your own house. If you have a serious issue regarding your pair, come and see me right away.'

Lily tapped a pile of papers with her wand, and they flew out to everyone in the room.

James stood back and watched as people compared papers, found their partners, and discussed patrol duties. Robert the Hufflepuff had started complaining loudly, so Zoë's Ravenclaw friend had supplied Zoë with a gigantic encyclopaedia to whack him round the head with. Remus was watching on, amused, and James turned to him.

'Is it usually this chaotic?'

Remus laughed. 'Sometimes.'

By the time the prefect meeting had ended and everyone else had left, James was exhausted.

'But you hardly did anything!' Lily complained.

James threw his hands up in the air. 'I acted _responsibly _and _maturely_! That's hard enough work as it is!'

To James' surprise, Lily laughed.

'Come on Head Boy, let's get back to Gryffindor tower. I'm sure Sirius is waiting to hear how horrible the meeting was.'

Remus chuckled. 'I'm sure he is.' He offered his arm out to Lily, who looped her arm with his, and together they headed out the door.

James watched, amused, and then followed suit. Lily was really one-of-a-kind.


End file.
